When the environment is healthy, we grow. It really is that simple. So, how do we create an environment that lends to high performance to maximise your full potential? Firstly, understand there are two environments; there is what you are working with in the outside world; people, places and things… lets call these objects of your attention the second point. Then there is where you are working from, I.e., what you bring to the world with you skills, knowledge and state of mind. Let’s call this subject, you…
the primary point.
Second Point
Since our environment can be very influential to our state of mind and performance, it is wise to surround yourself with influences that add to your life and performance. With people, learn to build and utilise a great support network. This means friends, coaches, teachers, trainers, mentors… anyone in your support network. Ensure they not only have the right knowledge that can teach you what you don’t yet know, but deliver it in a way that is caring and easy to understand. For example, somebody might have a lot of knowledge, but if they have a lot of ego, it will be more about them being right then about your development… and this will be hard to be around. Also, learn to walk away from the non-believers and negative vibes that detract from your happiness and performance. Then there are things: do the time to understand and acquire the right equipment and resources, including technology, ensuring you have the best possible systems and resources. Thirdly, places. It is hard to achieve excellence if you haven’t strategically positioned yourself and have a good understanding of the external environment. For example, if you’re a surfer, you might want to live on the coast, near quality waves, people, gyms etc., that provide opportunities for specific growth. If you’re a business, how well do you understand the external conditions (social, economic, political etc) specific to your field and have you positioned yourself to understand and adapt your strategiesto the changing factors that influence your business to maximise outward opportunity? A lot of this comes down to allocating time to observe these outward factors, so you can move out of reactive and into proactive ways of being.
Primary Point
This is to do with you. Do you have the skills and knowledge necessary for excellence in your chosen field? Do you have a success criteria? Where is your improvement coming from (skill acquisition) and how do you allow time to both understand and train for that, ensuring constant improvement, not matter what the outward terrain? More specifically, are you healthy? I.e., do you take care of your physical and mental well-being? While elite athlete’s main tool is their mind and body, they have no choice but to sharpen it for high performance. If you’re in business, your main tool might be your mind/intellect, but it is still subject to life force energy that goes up and down with food energy and your state of mind. It would be wise to adopt a routine that adds to your physical (nutrition, exercise, breathing and hydration) and mental (state if mind) health. My clients perform Kelee Meditation. A 5-minute practice that helps students detach from tension associated with stress and over-thinking and opens them to deeper understanding associated with the mind. When the mind is calm and focused, you bring out the best of your abilities and since what you bring to the external world, you bring from within, you also bring that clam awareness and wisdom to everything that you interact with in the second point (people, places and things). A calm and clear mind will clearly see the changes in the outside environment and adapt to them with no resistance, only awareness, while over-thinking can bring about careless repetition.
Final Word
Take the time to look at both your external and internal environment, so that you can create an environment of high performance. What ties all this together is simple, if it works, it adds to our performance, if it doesn’t, it takes away, we call it negative, or, more colloquially, “it sucks.” Create conditions that add and you will constantly add to your life and performance.